Further observations of protons resulting from the decay of neutrons ejected by solar flares

The solar flare of 1984 April 24 produced a large gamma ray fluence with energy 2MeV. The time profile of the interplanetary flux from this flare indicates the presence of decaying solar neutrons. This makes a total of three neutron flares so far observed by this method. The three flares are used to place constraints on the fluence and spectra of neutrons emitted by the Sun

Involvement of Park and Recreation Professionals in Pedestrian Plans

Professionals from many different disciplines are finding innovative ways to work together to increase physical activity to help create healthier communities. One process that can provide a focal point for promoting physical activity by park and recreation professionals, land use and transportation planners, public health practitioners, and other stakeholders is the development and implementation of pedestrian plans. A pedestrian plan is a public document that lays out a community’s vision for future pedestrian activity, identifies the actions required to realize that vision, ties actions to funding sources, and describes implementation and use. The purpose of this study was to explore whether park and recreation professionals were involved in creating pedestrian plans and how park and recreation elements were represented in these plans. To answer this, we identified, collected, and conducted a content analysis of all pedestrian plans in North Carolina. Among the 41 regional, county, and municipal pedestrian plans, park and recreation professionals were mentioned in the plan 56% of the time. Seventy-one percent (n=29) had a vision statement; however, among those only five vision statements mentioned parks or recreation. In all five cases, when a plan contained a vision statement that mentioned parks or recreation, there was a park and recreation member involved in the development of the plan. A higher percent of plans with a park and recreation professional involved were more likely to list parks in their land use analysis (74% vs. 67%). Park master plans were mentioned in the pedestrian plans 29% of the time; however, a lower percent of plans with a park and recreational professional involved mentioned a park master plan (26% vs. 33%). Given the potential importance of pedestrian plans in creating connections for pedestrians, park and recreation professionals are encouraged to become involved in the pedestrian planning process if they are not already. Parks can offer opportunities for residents of diverse ages and cultures to come together to socialize and engage in health-promoting activities. Integrating a park and recreation perspective into a more comprehensive planning process can enhance access to parks, inform programs, support multiple community goals, facilitate efficient use of resources, and promote partnerships for greater sustainabilit

Urban Containment Policies and Physical Activity A Time–Series Analysis of Metropolitan Areas, 1990–2002

Background: Urban containment policies attempt to manage the location, character, and timing of growth to support a variety of goals such as compact development, preservation of greenspace, and efficient use of infrastructure. Despite prior research evaluating the effects of urban containment policies on land use, housing, and transportation outcomes, the public health implications of these policies remain unexplored. This ecologic study examines relationships among urban containment policies, state adoption of growthmanagement legislation, and population levels of leisure and transportation-related physical activity in 63 large metropolitan statistical areas from 1990 to 2002. Methods: Multiple data sources were combined, including surveys of urban containment policies, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the U.S. Census of Population, the National Resources Inventory, and the Texas Transportation Institute Urban Mobility Study. Mixed models were used to examine whether urban containment policies and state adoption of growth-management legislation were associated with population levels of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and walking/bicycling to work over time. Results: Strong urban containment policies were associated with higher population levels of LTPA and walking/bicycling to work during the study period. Additionally, residents of states with legislation mandating urban growth boundaries reported significantly more minutes of LTPA/week compared to residents of states without such policies. Weak urban containment policies showed inconsistent relationships with physical activity. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence that strong urban containment policies are associated with higher population levels of LTPA and active commuting. Future research should examine potential synergies among state, metropolitan, and local policy processes that may strengthen these relationship

Planning for Pedestrians and Bicyclists in North Carolina.

Over the past decade, as obesity has continued to rise among both youth and adults, interest has grown in developing policies to promote community environments that support healthy lifestyles.1 A broad range of local, regional, state, and federal policies under the rubrics of active living, smart growth, and sustainable development share the underlying assumption that they can help people make healthier choices. From a transportation planning perspective, the benefits of pedestrian and bicycle plans resulting from the building of infrastructure to support pedestrian and bicycle travel include improved health (for example, through increased levels of physical activity and reduced obesity), a better environment (for example, through lower carbon emissions), and a stronger economy (for example, through lower fuel bills). However, until more recently, the health benefits have not been specifically explored

Measurements of galactic hydrogen and helium isotopes from 1978 through 1983

The differential flux of the hydrogen and helium isotopes was measured using an instrument on the ISEE-3 spacecraft during solar quiet time periods from August 1978 through December 1983. These measurements cover the energy range from 26 MeV/nucleon through 138 MeV/nucleon for both H-1 and He-4, from 24 to 89 MeV/nucleon for H-2, and from 43 to 146 solar activity varied from near minimum to maximum conditions causing the observed flux of galactic cosmic rays to modulate by an order of magnitude. To describe the propagation in the galaxy, it was found that the standard leaky box approximation with an escape path length of 6.7 g/sq cms forms a self consistent model for the light cosmic ray nuclei at the observed energies

The Agricultural Research System of the Philippines: A Reconnaissance Report

Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Methods for Agricultural Policy Analysis: An Overview

This article summarizes the articles that have been presented at the Workshop on Methods for Agricultural Policy Analysis held at UP Los Baños on August 13-14, 1985. It has four parts: the farm production/productivity change, the food consumption, the rural/ agricultural households in imperfect market settings and the methodologies for combining partial and general equilibrium framework.economic/development modelling, computable general equilibrium (CGE), agriculture sector

How do electronic carriers cross Si-bound alkyl monolayers?

Electron transport through Si-C bound alkyl chains, sandwiched between n-Si and Hg, is characterized by two distinct types of barriers, each dominating in a different voltage range. At low voltage, current depends strongly on temperature but not on molecular length, suggesting transport by thermionic emission over a barrier in the Si. At higher voltage, the current decreases exponentially with molecular length, suggesting tunneling through the molecules. The tunnel barrier is estimated, from transport and photoemission data, to be ~1.5 eV with a 0.25me effective mass.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

Heliospheric Transport of Neutron-Decay Protons

We report on new simulations of the transport of energetic protons originating from the decay of energetic neutrons produced in solar flares. Because the neutrons are fast-moving but insensitive to the solar wind magnetic field, the decay protons are produced over a wide region of space, and they should be detectable by current instruments over a broad range of longitudes for many hours after a sufficiently large gamma-ray flare. Spacecraft closer to the Sun are expected to see orders-of magnitude higher intensities than those at the Earth-Sun distance. The current solar cycle should present an excellent opportunity to observe neutron-decay protons with multiple spacecraft over different heliographic longitudes and distances from the Sun.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, to be published in special issue of Solar Physic